Issue: Utilities

The Public Power Handbook is a guide for communities exploring models of publicly owned power, such as a municipal electric utility, as a path toward local control, clean and affordable energy investment, and democratic accountability.

A dangerous House reconciliation bill puts critical clean energy gains at risk. It proposes deep cuts to renewable energy tax credits, expands fossil fuel infrastructure, and slashes support timelines for federal clean energy projects. These changes threaten to undermine community-owned initiatives, derail national efforts to combat the climate crisis and delay or cancel an estimated $14 billion worth of clean energy developments. But this moment is also a call to action—and communities are answering it.

The United States is one of the largest energy consumers per capita, requiring households to have adequate energy expenditures to keep up with modern demand regardless of financial cost. This paper investigates energy burden, defined as the ratio of household energy expenditures to household income.

Successful public power campaigns need to build strong coalitions, find
a winning message, and use legal and political savvy to overcome utility
opposition.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new polling on utility costs, Trump’s handling of energy costs and other energy and environmental issues, climate change impacts, and federal funding cuts.

Following our training “Powering Change: Telling Effective Stories to Build a Just, Inclusive, & Equitable Clean Energy Future,” this tip sheet offers practical guidance on using storytelling to promote equitable clean energy solutions.